47 Sights in Kamakura, Japan (with Map and Images)

Kotokuin is a temple of the Jodo sect located in the Nagatani of Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture. The main statue is the Great Buddha of Kamakura, a national treasure bronze statue of Amitabha. Officially, it is called Daisenzan Kotokuin Seijosenji. Both Kaiki (founder) and Kaizan (first abbot) are unknown.

Wikipedia: 鎌倉大仏 (JA)

Kōtoku-in (高徳院) is a Buddhist temple of the Jōdo-shū sect, in the city of Kamakura in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Its mountain name is Taiizan (大異山), and its common temple name is Shōjōsen-ji (清浄泉寺).

Wikipedia: Kōtoku-in (EN), Website

Tsurugaoka Hachimangū (鶴岡八幡宮) is the most important Shinto shrine in the city of Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The shrine is a cultural center of the city of Kamakura and serves as the venue of many of its most important festivals with two museums.

Wikipedia: Tsurugaoka Hachimangū (EN), Website

Zuirokusan Engaku Kōshō Zenji (瑞鹿山円覚興聖禅寺), or Engaku-ji (円覚寺), is one of the most important Zen Buddhist temple complexes in Japan and is ranked second among Kamakura's Five Mountains. It is situated in the city of Kamakura, in Kanagawa Prefecture to the south of Tokyo.

Wikipedia: Engaku-ji (EN), Website

Kenchō-ji (建長寺) is a Rinzai Zen temple in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, which ranks first among Kamakura's so-called Five Great Zen Temples and is the oldest Zen training monastery in Japan. These temples were at the top of the Five Mountain System, a network of Zen temples started by the Hōjō Regents. Still very large, it originally had a full shichidō garan and 49 subtemples.

Wikipedia: Kenchō-ji (EN), Website

Matsugaoka Tōkei-ji (松岡山東慶寺), also known as Kakekomi-dera (駆け込み寺) or Enkiri-dera (縁切り寺), is a Buddhist temple and a former nunnery, the only survivor of a network of five nunneries called Amagozan (尼五山), in the city of Kamakura in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the Rinzai school of Zen's Engaku-ji branch, and was opened by Hōjō Sadatoki and founding abbess Kakusan-ni in 1285. It is best known as a historic refuge for women who were abused by their husbands. It is for this reason sometimes referred to as the "Divorce Temple".

Wikipedia: Tōkei-ji (EN)

Kakuonji is a Buddhist temple of the Shingon sect of the Senjoji sect located in Nikaido, Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The name of the mountain is called Mt. Washibeng. The honzon is the Yakushi Sanson, the Kaiki is Hojo Sadatoki, and the Kaizan is Chikai Shinkei. It is a temple that gathers the reverence of successive generations of the Hojo family of the Kamakura shogunate. Located in the back of the valley north of the Kanazawa Highway connecting Sagami and Musashi Provinces, the temple grounds and the surrounding area are well preserved, and it is said to be one of the temples that best retains the remnants of Kamakura before urbanization. The precincts are designated as a national historic site.

Wikipedia: 覚園寺 (JA)

The Kamakura Museum of National Treasures or Kamakura Museum or Kamakura National Treasure House is a museum located on the grounds of Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū in Yukinoshita, Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The museum houses around 4800 objects from the Kamakura region including sculptures, paintings and industrial art objects. Most of these works originate from the Kamakura and Muromachi periods, spanning from the 12th to the 16th century. Some of the items were produced in China and imported to Japan.

Wikipedia: Kamakura Museum of National Treasures (EN), Website

Zeniarai Benzaiten Ugafuku Shrine , popularly known as Zeniarai Benten, is a Shinto shrine in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is a small shrine, but the second most popular spot in Kamakura after Tsurugaoka Hachimangū. Zeniarai Benzaiten is popular among tourists because the waters of a spring in its cave are said to be able to multiply the money washed in it. The object of worship is a syncretic kami that fuses a traditional spirit called Ugafukujin (宇賀福神) with the Buddhist goddess of Indian origin Sarasvati, known in Japanese as Benzaiten. The shrine is one of the minority in Japan that still shows the fusion of native religious beliefs and foreign Buddhism, which was normal before the Meiji restoration. Zeniarai Benzaiten used to be an external massha of Ōgigayatsu's Yazaka Daijin (八坂大神), but became independent in 1970 under its present name.

Wikipedia: Zeniarai Benzaiten Ugafuku Shrine (EN)

Tenshōzan Renge-in Kōmyō-ji (天照山蓮華院光明寺) is a Buddhist temple of the Jōdo sect in Zaimokuza, near Kamakura, Japan, the only major one in the city to be close to the sea. Kōmyō-ji is number one among the Kantō Jūhachi Danrin (関東十八檀林), a group of 18 Jōdo temples established during the Edo period by Tokugawa Ieyasu, and dedicated to both the training of priests and scholarly research. It is also the sect's head temple for the Kantō region. In spite of the fact it is a Jōdo sect temple, Kōmyō-ji has several of the typical features of a Zen temple, for example a sanmon, a pond and a karesansui.

Wikipedia: Kōmyō-ji (Kamakura) (EN)

Kinbyōzan Zuisen-ji (錦屏山瑞泉寺) is a Buddhist temple of the Rinzai sect in Nikaidō's Momijigayatsu Valley in Kamakura, Japan. During the Muromachi period it was the family temple of the Ashikaga rulers of Kamakura : four of the five kubō are buried there in a private cemetery closed to the public and first kubō Ashikaga Motouji's is also known by the name Zuisen-ji-den (瑞泉寺殿). Designed by prominent Zen religious figure, poet and Zen garden designer Musō Soseki, the temple lies on top of an isolated hill and is famous for both its garden and its Zen rock garden. The beauty and the quantity of its plants have gained it since antiquity the nickname "Temple of Flowers" (花の寺). The main object of worship is Jizō Bosatsu. Zuisen-ji is an Historic Site and contains numerous objects classified as Important Cultural Properties and Places of Scenic Beauty.

Wikipedia: Zuisen-ji (EN), Website

Hongakuji Temple is the main temple of Nichiren Buddhism in Kamakura City, Kanagawa Prefecture. The name of the mountain is Mt. Myogon. It is also called "Higashi Minobu" because it divided the remains of Nichiren at Kuonji Temple on Mt. Minobu. It is located near Kamakura Station, and across the street from Komachi Oji (Tsuji Kyoho Street) is the Chokozan Myohonji Temple, the main temple of Nichiren Buddhism.

Wikipedia: 本覚寺 (鎌倉市) (JA)

Gionzan An’yō-in Chōraku-ji (祇園山安養院長楽寺) is a Jōdo shū Buddhist temple in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan. Famous for its rhododendrons, it was named after its founder's posthumous name. The main object of worship is Amida Nyorai, but it also enshrines Senju Kannon, Goddess of Mercy. An’yō-in is Number three of the 33 temples of the Bandō Sanjūsankasho pilgrimage circuit.

Wikipedia: An'yō-in (Kamakura) (EN)

Fugenzan Meigetsu-in (福源山明月院) is a Rinzai Zen temple of the Kenchō-ji school in Kita-Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan. Famous for its hydrangeas, it's also known as The Temple of Hydrangeas (ajisai-dera). The main object of worship is goddess Shō Kannon (聖観音).

Wikipedia: Meigetsu-in (EN), Website

Ryōgonzan Renge-in Myōhō-ji (楞厳山蓮華院妙法寺) is a Buddhist temple of the Nichiren sect in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan. It is one of a group of three built near the site in Matsubagayatsu, or the Valley of Pine Needles (松葉ヶ谷), where Nichiren, founder of the Buddhist sect that bears his name, is supposed to have had his hut. The temple has also close ties with Prince Morinaga and the Imperial House.

Wikipedia: Myōhō–ji (EN)

Kinpōzan Jōchi-ji (金宝山浄智寺) is a Buddhist Zen temple in Kita-Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It belongs to the Engaku-ji school of the Rinzai sect and is ranked fourth among Kamakura's Five Mountains. The main objects of worship are the three statues of Shaka, Miroku, and Amida Nyorai visible inside the main hall.

Wikipedia: Jōchi-ji (EN)

Kinryūzan Shakuman-in Endon Hōkai-ji (金龍山釈満院円頓宝戒寺) is a Buddhist temple in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Often called Hagidera (萩寺), or "bush-clover temple", because those flowers are numerous in its garden, its existence is directly linked to a famous tragedy that on July 4, 1333 wiped out almost the entire Hōjō clan, ruler of Japan for 135 years. The temple was founded expressly to enshrine the souls of the 870 members of the clan who, in accordance with the samurai code of honor, committed suicide on that day at their family temple (bodaiji) of Tōshō-ji to escape defeat. Together with ancient Sugimoto-dera, Hōkai-ji is the only temple of the Tendai denomination in Kamakura. Formerly a branch temple of the great Kan'ei-ji, after its destruction it became a branch of Enryaku-ji.

Wikipedia: Hōkai-ji (EN)

Kikokuzan Kongō Jufuku Zenji (亀谷山金剛寿福禅寺), usually known as Jufuku-ji, is a temple of the Kenchō-ji branch of the Rinzai sect and the oldest Zen temple in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Ranked third among Kamakura's prestigious Five Mountains, it is number 24 among the Thirty-Three Kamakura Kannon pilgrimage temples and number 18 of the Kamakura Nijūyon Jizō (鎌倉二十四地蔵) temples. Its main object of worship is Shaka Nyorai.

Wikipedia: Jufuku-ji (EN)

Shorenji Temple is a temple of the Koyasan Shingon sect located in Tehiro, Kamakura City, Kanagawa Prefecture. The end of Koyasan Hojuin (無量寿院). For details, it is called Iimoriyama Nioin Seirenji Temple. Koyasan Shingon Buddhist sect quasi-separate main mountain. The 59th ticket office in the 88th place in the Kanto region, the 88th ticket office in the 88th place in the new Shikoku region of the Eastern Province, and the 19th ticket office in the 21st place in Aishu.

Wikipedia: 青蓮寺 (鎌倉市) (JA)

Hōkizan Chōju Zenji (宝亀山長寿禅寺) is a Rinzai Buddhist temple of the Kenchō-ji school in Yamanouchi, near Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It lies between two Kita-Kamakura landmarks, the entrance of the Kamegayatsu Pass and Kenchō-ji, the oldest Zen monastery in Japan. Chōju-ji is one of two bodaiji (菩提寺), or funeral temples, dedicated to Ashikaga Takauji, founder of the dynasty of shōguns that carries his name. In its garden there are a gorintō dedicated to the shōgun and a hōkyōintō containing some of his hair. Chōju-ji has recently opened for the first time its doors, and receives visitors from Friday to Sunday, 10 AM to 3 PM. The temple allows the use of pocket cameras, however professional and semiprofessional equipment are forbidden, the reason being that visitors should not visit the temple to take photographs.

Wikipedia: Chōju-ji (Kamakura) (EN)

Myōhon-ji (妙本寺) is one of the oldest Nichiren sect temples in Kamakura, Kanagawa. Its official name is Chōkō-zan Myōhon-ji (長興山妙本寺). "Chōkō" comes from the posthumous name of Nichiren's father and "Myōhon" from his mother's.

Wikipedia: Myōhon-ji (EN)

Gokuraku-ji (極楽寺) is a Buddhist temple of the Shingon sect located in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It was founded in 1259 by Ninshō (1217-1303) and has been restored and rebuilt many times since then.

Wikipedia: Gokuraku-ji (Kamakura) (EN)

Sugimoto-dera is a Buddhist temple in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, one of the oldest temples in Kamakura and, together with Hōkai-ji, the only one of the Tendai denomination. The temple is Number one of the Bandō Sanjūsankasho pilgrimage circuit. Two of the three statues of goddess Kannon it enshrines are Important Cultural Properties. Sugimotodera is nicknamed Geba Kannon, because horsemen never failed to dismount from their steeds when they passed by. The temple is a branch temple of Hōkai-ji.

Wikipedia: Sugimoto-dera (EN), Website

Ryuhoji Temple is a temple of the Soto sect located in Ueki, Kamakura City, Kanagawa Prefecture. The name of the mountain is Yokokuzan. It is said that the main temple is a statue of Shakyamuni Buddha, the opening is Hojo Tsunari, and the opening is Tai Ryū Sōei.

Wikipedia: 龍寶寺 (JA)

Jorakuji Temple is a temple of the Kenchoji sect of the Rinzai sect located in Ofuna, Kamakura City, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The name of the mountain is Mt. Awafune. The main Buddha is Amitabha. It was founded in the 3rd year of Jiayi (1237), and the foundation was opened by Hojo Taitoki, and the opening was by the retreat of cultivation.

Wikipedia: 常楽寺 (鎌倉市) (JA)

Myōhōkekyōzan Ankokuron-ji (妙法華経山安国論寺) is a Buddhist temple of the Nichiren sect in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan. It is one of a group of three built near the site in Matsubagayatsu (Valley of Pine Needles where Nichiren, founder of the Buddhist sect that bears his name, is supposed to have had his hut.

Wikipedia: Ankokuron-ji (EN)

Kamakura-gū (鎌倉宮) is a shrine in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It was erected by Emperor Meiji in 1869 to enshrine the spirit of Prince Morinaga, who was imprisoned and later executed where the shrine now stands in 1335 by order of Ashikaga Tadayoshi. For this reason, the shrine is also known as Ōtōnomiya or Daitōnomiya (大塔宮) from the Prince's full name.

Wikipedia: Kamakura-gū (EN)

Tōkasan Jōmyō Zenji (稲荷山浄妙寺) is a Zen Buddhist temple of the Rinzai sect, Kenchō-ji school, in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Jōmyō-ji is Number Five of the five temples known as Kamakura Gozan, and the only one of the five not founded by a member of the Hōjō clan. Jōmyō-ji has instead, as nearby Zuisen-ji, deep ties with the Ashikaga clan, and was one of the family's funeral temples (bodaiji). For this reason the family's kamon, or crest, is ubiquitous on its premises. The first three characters of its full name mean "Inari mountain", presumably from the hill of the same name where it stands, in its turn named after an ancient Inari myth. Jōmyō-ji has given its name to the surrounding area, the characters for which have been however deliberately changed from 浄妙寺 to 浄明寺.

Wikipedia: Jōmyō-ji (EN)

Catholic Yukinoshita Church is a Christian Catholic church and cathedral located in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture. A church dedicated to Our Lady of Perpetual Help. It is a cathedral in the Catholic Diocese of Yokohama, Kanagawa District 4.

Wikipedia: カトリック雪ノ下教会 (JA)

Ryūkō-ji (龍口寺) is a temple of the Nichiren Shū in the city of Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It stands on the site of the former Tatsukuchi Execution Grounds, and its name uses the same two kanji meaning "dragon mouth"(龍口). It was here that Nichiren, namesake of the Buddhist sect, was to have been executed, but was spared. It was founded in 1337 by Nippō, a disciple of Nichiren.

Wikipedia: Ryūkō-ji (Fujisawa) (EN)

The Kamakura Museum of Literature is a small museum in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan, that contains material about writers who have lived, died, or were active in the city of Kamakura itself. The museum displays personal effects, manuscripts, first editions, and documents owned by well over a hundred writers of Japanese literature, including Natsume Sōseki and Kawabata Yasunari, as well as film director Yasujirō Ozu. The villa that hosts the museum, its large garden and its rose garden are also of great interest.

Wikipedia: Kamakura Museum of Literature (EN)

Ishiizan Chōshō-ji (石井山長勝寺) is a Buddhist temple of the Nichiren Shū in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan. It's one of a group of three built near the site in Matsubagayatsu (Valley of Pine Needles where Nichiren, founder of the Buddhist sect that bears his name, is supposed to have had his hut. The first part of its name is derived from the founder's last name, the second is an alternative reading of the characters for Nagakatsu, the founder's first name.

Wikipedia: Chōshō-ji (EN)

Jōkōmyoji Temple is a temple of the Shingon sect of the Senjoji sect located in Ogigayatsu, Kamakura City, Kanagawa Prefecture. The name of the mountain is Senkokuzan. It was opened by Hojo Nagatoki. Kaizan is Shina. The honzon is Amitabha. It is a temple closely related to the Hojo and Ashikaga clans, and it is said that Ashikaga Takashi was holed up in this temple just before he raised troops against Emperor Go-Daigo. No. 82 of the 88 sacred sites in the eastern part of New Shikoku.

Wikipedia: 浄光明寺 (JA)

Hatakeyama Rokurō Shigeyasu (畠山六郎重保) was a Kamakura period warrior who fell victim of political intrigue in 1205. The grave under a tabu no ki tree near the Yuigahama end of Wakamiya Ōji Avenue in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan and next to Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū's first torii is traditionally supposed to be his. It is an Important Cultural Property and a famous example of hōkyōintō. Famous for the quality of its manufacture, the hōkyōintō' is 3.45 m tall and is made of andesite.

Wikipedia: Hatakeyama Shigeyasu's grave (EN)

Daigyoji Temple is a single temple of the Nichiren Buddhist sect located in Komachi, Kamakura City, Kanagawa Prefecture. It is known as a temple that does not have a specific Dan family and prays for safe birth. The former main temple is Hikiya Myohonji.

Wikipedia: 大巧寺 (JA)

Myōin is a temple of the Shingon sect of the Senjoji sect located in 12 places in Kamakura City, Kanagawa Prefecture. The name of the mountain is Mt. Iimori. The name of the temple is Kankiji. The main temple is the Five Great Ming Kings, also known as the "Five Great Halls". The 8th shrine of the Kamakura Kannon Shrine.

Wikipedia: 明王院 (鎌倉市) (JA)

Amanawa Shinmei Shrine was founded in 710 and is the oldest Shinto shrine in Kamakura. It is dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu. According to the ancient document History of Amanawa-ji Shinmei-gū kept by the shrine, the founder of the shrine is famous priest Gyōki; a powerful and rich man named Tokitada Someya supported the construction.

Wikipedia: Amanawa Shinmei Shrine (EN)

Joeiji Temple is a Nichiren Buddhist temple located in Omachi, Kamakura City, Kanagawa Prefecture. The name of the mountain is Hui Yun Mountain. In the 11th year of Keicho (1606), the Soan, which had existed since the Kamakura period, was opened by Nichiyu-nun, and Nichi-jojin opened the mountain. The honzon is the Three Treasures Ancestor. Due to the auspiciousness described later, it is known as Botamochi Temple (Peony Mochi Temple). The former main temple is Hikiya Myohonji Temple, Ikegami and Kagurazaka Hoen.

Wikipedia: 常栄寺 (鎌倉市) (JA)

Kosonji Temple is a temple of the Nichiren sect in Hase, Kamakura City, Kanagawa Prefecture. The mountain name is at the time of the mountain. Former Motoyama is Hikiya Myohonji Temple. Ikegami / Tobetsu store law.

Wikipedia: 光則寺 (JA)

The Kamakura History and Culture Exchange Center is an exhibition facility similar to the Kamakura City History Museum, which opened on May 15, 2017 (Heisei 29). At the planning stage, it was tentatively named "Kamakura History and Cultural Exchange Center".

Wikipedia: 鎌倉歴史文化交流館 (JA), Website

Shugenji Temple is a temple of Nichiren Buddhism located in Kamakura City, Kanagawa Prefecture. The name of the mountain is Mt. Shijo. The main Buddha is the Ten Realms Mandala. The former main temple is Gyotokiyama Mitsunori Temple. Ikegami and Totomi store law.

Wikipedia: 収玄寺 (JA)

Tozenji Temple is a temple of Nichiren Buddhism located in Koshigoshi, Kamakura City, Kanagawa Prefecture. The former main temple is the Great Honzan Lotus Sutra Temple. Konishi Horen. One of the eight temples of Ryukouji Ringban.

Wikipedia: 東漸寺 (鎌倉市) (JA)

Myodenji Temple is a temple of Nichiren Buddhism located in Ogigayatsu, Kamakura City, Kanagawa Prefecture. The name of the mountain is Mt. Tahotani (formerly Mt. Masanobu). The former main mountain is Mimatsu Reneiji Temple. It belongs to the parent teacher dharma. The precincts are said to be the ruins of Izumigaya Tahoji Temple, which was opened by Shinobi in the 2nd year of Kocho (1262).

Wikipedia: 妙伝寺 (鎌倉市) (JA)

Keiunji Temple is a temple of Nichiren Buddhism located in Kamakura City, Kanagawa Prefecture. The name of the mountain is Shokoyama. The opening of the mountain is a blessing in disguise. The former main temple is Ōmotoyama Honkuji Temple (Rokujōmon-ryū). Konishi Horen.

Wikipedia: 啓運寺 (鎌倉市) (JA)

Wadazuka is a medieval memorial mound that is said to have been dedicated to the army of Yoshimori Wada, located at 3-4-7 Yuigahama, Kamakura City, Kanagawa Prefecture. Originally, it was called "Mujodo Mound", and there is a theory that it was one of the Kofun Tombs and Mukaihara Kofun groups from the same Kofun period as the Kagime Mound where the Haniwa (Yokohama National University, Kyoto University collection) and Magata Haniwa were excavated. However, there are some doubts about the use of Wadazuka as an ancient burial mound.

Wikipedia: 和田塚 (JA)

Tamanawa History Museum is a private history museum located in the precincts of Ryuhoji Temple at Ueki 128, Kamakura City, Kanagawa Prefecture. The exhibition focuses on historical materials related to Tamanawa Castle during the Warring States period that existed in this vicinity.

Wikipedia: 玉縄歴史館 (JA)

Hozen-in is a temple of the Daikakuji sect of the Shingon sect located in Kamakura City, Kanagawa Prefecture. It is also called "Kamochizan Hozenin Ryozan Temple" and "Taisumi Mountain Hozenin Rurikoji Temple". Since only the name of the temple is the same, it is usually called "Hozen-in".

Wikipedia: 宝善院 (鎌倉市) (JA)